Shortcut to Her Heart
by Ultimate Lucy Fan
Summary: It's the last day of the Magnolia Harvest Festival and Lucy is left all alone. With no boyfriend to take her to the celebrations; she has to rely on a certain close friend...only will he fail her too? (NatsuxLucy one shot) FLUFFY Picture by Marmewa on deviant art.


**A/N: This was just a short fluff fic I wanted to write. I just love NaLu so much! XD Enjoy!**

 **Fairy Tail Guild:**

It was another wonderful night in the town of Magnolia…but tonight wasn't just any ordinary night. No, this was the finale of the Magnolia Harvest Festival.

Everyone in the city was currently out and dancing through the streets with their loved ones for the final phase of the celebration, the Night of Pink. It was the grandest celebration of the entire festival, the greatest splendor in both fireworks and food set aside for that most wonderful night, much to the chagrin of a certain celestial mage; she didn't have that one special person to take her out on a night of fun…instead she had to settle for a certain close friend…

"Ergh! Stupid dragon!" She yelled, slamming her fists down on the bar counter once more, Lucy stared angrily at the wall ahead of her, the target of her frustration no-where to be seen. "I can't believe he's not here yet!" She grizzled, her distaste for that one particular male more than apparent to the other girl in the room.

"Heheheh…" Letting out a nervous giggle, Mirajane really didn't know what to say to the blonde. 'Please calm down', was a start, but then what? If she wasn't careful she might incite an emotional explosion unlike any the guild had seen before…and that was saying something!

Stepping over to the steaming blonde, Mira held out one hand as she tried to console the celestial mage. "Don't worry, Lucy." She smiled, giving the girl her signature caring look. "I'm sure Natsu will show up eventually."

"Yeah! Eventually!" The younger girl retorted, focusing on the last word of Mira's statement, the blonde was soon bearing down on the table with a vengeance, her fists threatening to crack it with every blow. "Why did he have to choose today!?" She pounded, a fist coming down with every word. "Of all days to go out and get lost!" Lucy wailed. "Why did he choose today to just run off and forget about me?!"

Her gaze temporarily weakening, the girl thought back to what Natsu had promised earlier that day. _"Sure, Luce! I'll take ya to the festival!"_ He had said; that stupid, goofy grin on his face. Her eyes regaining their previous fury, she frowned. _Yeah, right!_

The bar maiden's eyes opening up to give the blonde mage a sympathetic look, Mira clasped her hands together in front of her. "Awww, c'mon, Lucy…" She said softly, cocking her head to one side, she let her pony tail move with her cheerful movement. "Natsu probably has a great reason for not being here!"

"Really? Like what?" Lucy asked, turning her attention to the older girl. Her brown orbs promised eternal torment for any who crossed her right now; the stare was so intense even someone of Mira's power felt herself shaking in her boots.

"Oh! Well…" Thinking back to the conversation she had, had with Natsu earlier that day, Mira knew she couldn't say anything to Lucy about where he was; lest she risked spoiling surprise he had planned for her. _Why did I have to be stuck alone with her?..._ She asked herself, a sweat drop running down her forehead.

Never once relenting in her anger, Lucy kept on her. "Well?" The blonde repeated herself, her cold gaze locked on her white-haired target.

Tucking one hand behind her head, the bar maiden couldn't help wincing at what she knew would be a fireball heading her way. "Ummm…maybe he's getting dressed?..." She offered apprehensively.

That was it…

"What?! Getting dressed?! Are you kidding me?!" Lucy screamed. Standing up from her bar stool, the blonde raised one fist up in front of her, her anger pulsing through it with every shake. "I have been sitting here, waiting…all day for him!" She shouted. "I mean, look at me!" Stepping back so that the older girl could get a better look at her, Lucy modeled her outfit for her.

"I've been waiting for him so long; I never even got a chance to change!" Her eyes moving down the blonde's body, Mira really didn't know what the girl was complaining about. Even though she wasn't clad in a sparkling blue dress, Lucy's usual blue and white vest looked great on her; and with a matching blue bow in her hair and skirt over her curvaceous hips…

Stepping towards the raving girl, Mira looked her dead in the eye. "I think you look beautiful, Lucy…" She beamed at her, the truth in her words passing right over the blonde's head and into the next town.

"Yeah, well you're the only one who thinks that…" Lucy growled, her arms crossing self-consciously over her body, a look of sadness washing away her previously aggressive one. "Thanks to Natsu; no one will get to see me wear my new dress…"

Looking at the sudden vulnerability in her friend, Mira sighed. _Natsu…where are you?..._ Her thoughts taking her attention away from the girl in front of her, the bar maiden soon found it drawn back as another thought escaped the blonde's lips.

"This is why I need a boyfriend…" Lucy moaned; her words bringing a look of worry to the older girl. "Maybe then I wouldn't have to depend on a stupid idiot like…"

'BANG!' The front doors to the Guild Hall crashing open, the blur of a dragon slayer flew through them, his pink form sliding across the ground at tremendous speed; his body coming to a screeching halt in front of the blonde.

"Natsu! You're here!" Mira cried, her hands clasping together in front of her. _And not a moment too soon!_

Turning from the elated bar maiden and over to her buffoon of a team mate, Lucy crossed her arms over her chest as she scowled at him, her words leaking from her lips like venom. "Well look what the cat dragged in…"

"Lucy!" Natsu called as he screeched to a halt in front of her, the man holding out his hands in apology. "I'm sorry I'm late! I was just busy with-"

"Busy with what?!" The blonde interrupted him, her hands descending to her hips as a look of fury desecrated her beautiful features. "Lisanna?" She questioned, the look on his face faltering the moment she brought up the girl he once held closer than any other.

"What?! No!" Natsu held up his arms defensively, this was not at all the reaction he was expecting from the girl. "I wasn't hanging out with Lisanna! Anyway, what does she have to do with—"

"Uhuh…sure…" Lucy huffed, the blonde closing her eyes as she turned away from the man. "I can't think of any other reason why you would have made me wait so long. Why don't you just take her to the festival instead?"

 _Damnit, you're difficult when you're pissed._ Natsu thought. "Lucy, please…" He begged. "Please, just let me take you to the festival…I'll make it up to you; I swear!"

"He swears he will, Lucy…" Mira nodded at the girl, her blue eyes locking with the blonde's brown ones as she laid a caring hand on her shoulder. "I know he will…"

Their eyes locked for several long moments, neither Natsu nor Mira really knew what the girl was going to say until those wonderful pink lips of hers opened up once more…

"Fine…" Lucy huffed, the girl leaning into the now happy man with one finger pointed at his chest, but you're buying the food. Got it?" She poked him in the chest a couple times to make her point.

"Yeah, Luce…I got it…" Natsu grinned nervously, the man not wanting to screw up his only chance at her over such a silly condition, he agreed.

"Okay…" Lucy sighed, properly affixing her sprit keys to her belt; the celestial mage turned to leave, looking back only once at her escort for the evening. "Let's go."

And with that, she was off, walking away from the bar, Natsu had only a moment to exchange looks with Mira. "She really is something else, huh?" He grinned at the bar maiden before sprinting after the fuming girl.

"Oh, you have no idea…" Mira smiled after him as he departed, wishing the young man the best of luck in his plans for the night. _Whatever you did; I sure hope it was worth it…_ The girl let her stare follow the young man out the door and into the night air, his form soon disappearing into the darkness. _You certainly didn't make things any easier for yourself…_

 **Magnolia Woods:**

'Clop…Clop…Clop...' Their boots resounding off of the stone path below their feet, the two Fairy Tail wizards made their strode up into the forest on their way to the Night of Pink celebrations.

"Hey, Natsu." Lucy said looking around, her brown orbs not liking what she was seeing; something seemed off about the route they were taking to the festival…

"Yeah, Luce?" Smiling back at the scowling blonde, the man hoped he could lighten her mood at least a little before they got to where they were going.

Turning her head so that she was facing him, the girl kept up her annoyed look. "Are you sure this is a short cut?" She growled.

"Yeah! Of course it is!" Natsu beamed, trying to exude confidence in every word he said. "What makes you think it isn't?"

Seeing the carefree look on the dragon slayer's face; after all he'd put her through…it made Lucy want to throttle the man. _First he leaves me at the guild for six hours; and then he gets me lost in the woods!? What the hell!?_ Steam shooting out her ears, Lucy felt her eyes lose their pupils as mouth opened up wide. "Because the city is back that way!" She screamed, pointing back the way they came, her arms shaking the harder she strained to make him turn around and see where he was going.

Ignoring the blonde's alarm, he kept on. "Nah! It's a short cut; I told ya!" Natsu grinned, the poor man doing his absolute darnedest to stay calm and not lose his cool in the intense situation he was in, his hands still folded casually behind his head as he walked along.

"Ergh…" Lucy shook with anger, feeling her insides wanting to explode, the girl was about to let it all out on her obvious jackass of a friend when she realized she just couldn't keep it up anymore. "Ooohhh…."

Her blonde hair falling over her eyes, the girl kept on walking; her voice laced with anger and disappointment. "Why couldn't I have gotten a real man to take me to the festival?..." She pouted.

Even though her words were meant only for herself, Natsu still heard them. His arms never moving from behind his head, the man looked the sullen girl over, letting his dark orbs run over her beautiful feminine features. "You know…you're pretty cute when you're mad…" He grinned.

"Huh? What was that?!" Lucy suddenly looked up; her fury brought back to life in mere moments, the girl soon found herself being left behind as the dragon slayer increased his pace, his longer legs breezing him ahead of her.

"Ah! Natsu!" Lucy shouted from behind him, her energy growing by the second. "Where do you think you're going?!"

Tilting his head so that one eye connected with hers, he let his wide grin speak for itself; he wasn't slowing down; she would have to keep up with him if she didn't want to get lost in the woods and he knew that.

"Natsu!" Lucy called from behind him once more. "Slow down, will ya?!" Keeping up the pace, Natsu soon found Lucy closing the gap; her cheeks flushed pink at the movements her body made as she caught up with him. _Sometimes I hate being a girl…_ She sighed.

Even then Natsu never once slowed down though; he knew his one chance to show her how much he cared about her…what he felt towards her…awaited them at the forest's edge, and giving the girl any opportunity to stop him and make him take her back home would ruin it forever.

Finally, after several minutes of this silly pursuit, Lucy at long last caught up with her escort; the two coming to a halt at a clearing in the trees, Lucy parted her lips to speak, to tell the man to just take her home for the night and forget about this pointless adventure he was obviously taking her on.

"Natsu…" She started, her patience absolutely exhausted from his escapades that night, she let out a heavy sigh. "Just take me ho—" The girl tried to turn her head to face him, but it would not move, her eyes had bound her to the sight before her, the spectacle meant for her eyes and her eyes alone.

 _Natsu…_

Standing on the edge of a Cliffside, Lucy at last saw the reason why the boy had dragged her all the way out her into the woods, away from the splendor of Magnolia's Harvest Festival, away from the Night of Pink… There…ahead of them was the night sky, a sheet of utter blackness covered in a sprinkling of dazzling stars, and below that…

A flickering of light catching her eye, Lucy soon found herself looking down, down towards the small grassy plain below them, and there…there she saw it. Painting in a series of smoldering fires was a heart, a giant heart burning in the field; and within that…a word written in those very same…very familiar flames… "LUCY"

"Uhhh…Uhhh…" Completely at a loss for words, Lucy had no idea what to say! Here she had thought that Natsu had just abandoned her all day on some random excursion with Happy, or worse still; he had given into past feelings for Lisanna! But this…the idea of this never crossed her mind as a possibility… _Natsu…_ She could already feel tears forming in her eyes at the sheer joy she was experiencing.

"Uhh…heheheh…" The nervous ramblings of the very mage who had brought her such happiness shattering her thoughts, Lucy looked over at him, one hand rubbing the back of his head, the friction threatened to set another fire if he kept going. "I hope you like it, Luce…" He grinned awkwardly at her. "It took me all day to ma—Ohmmm!"

His admission being brought to an abrupt end, Natsu's shocked expression soon transformed into a smile as he felt Lucy's pink lips crash against his, her thin arms wrapping around his neck, pulling him closer to her. Seeing her eyes slammed shut, the man too closed his as he encircled his arms around her waist, pressing her soft body right up against his hard one. _Lucy…_ He thought; the girl he cared for most of all was kissing him…she was finally kissing him! The man could have beaten Gildarts with one hand tied behind his back and never felt anywhere near as much happiness he felt at that very moment.

The couple remaining in the kiss for several more long, wonderful seconds, soon had had to come up for air, their lips parting, they never once drew more than an inch apart, the rest of their bodies staying just as close as they had been during their destined meeting.

Staring into her eyes, her big, brown beautiful eyes…those same orbs he had seen call for his help on the battlefield, scream at him in the guild hall, and swell up with tears when he left her… Natsu now found a new look staring back at him…

"So, Luce… I take it you like it?" The man asked, his new girlfriend rolling her eyes at his stupid question as she her face slid lower onto his chest.

Snuggling into his warm arms, Lucy let all her worries leave her mind. The loving embrace of the dragon slayer surrounding her, she knew the question of getting a real boyfriend was forever answered.

"Uhh…Luce…" Natsu looked down at her now, an apprehensive look still plastered over his rugged face. "You do like it…right?"

Raising her head back up from his manly chest, Lucy gazed into his eyes as their lips met once more. "Of course I do…idiot…"

 **A/N: A quick fluff fic for my favorite Fairy Tail pairing! No update for "Natsu's Bouncy Fairies" this week due to testing, but an update should be ready next week. Speaking of which, please read and REVIEW if you enjoyed this little fic and if so, also check out he above story for even Fairy Tail fun!**


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